Housing insecurity is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and affordable housing. without being entirely homeless. [1] [2] Housing insecurity is associated with worse health outcomes and can be alleviated by increasing the housing supply, for example loosening zoning regulations. [3]
Housing insecurity is defined as a precariousness regarding one's housing conditions, often including some or all of the following: [1] : 345 [2] : 2
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development uses the terms "cost burdened" and "severely cost burdened" to describe individuals or families that spend more than 30% and 50% of their income on housing costs, respectively. [4] According to the 2020 U.S. census, 46% of American renters are cost burdened, with 23% severely cost burdened. [5]
one out of five in the United States who earn less than $25,000 per year have fallen behind on rent. [1] : 346
Evidence from multiple fields of harmful effects from housing affordability constraints on parents’ mental health, children's cognitive functioning, and on child misbehaviour. [1] : 346
Landlords may also fail housing quality standards inspections by neglecting to repair and maintain their property as required. [1] : 347
An estimated 15% of rental units in the United States (over five million) have significant quality and safety issues (such as crumbling walls and vermin infestation) or lacked residential essentials, like heating equipment or running water. [1] : 348 Consistent exposure to unsafe housing (e.g dampness, poor ventilation, and unhygenic conditions) can lead to an increase in mold and other allergens that develop and aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma, the most common chronic health problem among children [1] : 348 Broader hazard issues such as fire-risks and unsafe structures, can lead to fires or collapses causing injuries, and render a housing unit uninhabitable or condemned. [1] : 348
Despite lead paint having been banned in the United States in the 1970s, lead paint is still present in some houses and how its a particularly prevelent issue in low-income, majority-minority neighborhoods, still contain lead paint. [1] : 347 This is despite the increased risk of lead poisoning, which has negative effects on children's cognitive development and executive function. [1] : 347
Over-crowded housing can affect sleep, privacy, and adequate study space, as well as increasing risk of infection [1] : 348
Housing discrimination refers to patterns of discrimination that affect a person's ability to rent or buy housing. This disparate treatment of a person on the housing market can be based on group characteristics or on the place where a person lives. [6]
The most straightforward form of housing discrimination involves a landlord who rejects offers from potential tenants based on factors such as race, age, gender, marital status, source of funding, [7] and others. The landlord may perform the discrimination explicitly or implicitly. Housing discrimination can also occur among existing tenants, who may face detrimental treatment in comparison to others for the same reasons. Housing discrimination can lead to spatial inequality and racial segregation, which, in turn, can exacerbate wealth disparities between certain groups.In the United States it's common for landlords to discriminate according to potential renters by their credit score. People with poor or no credit are much more likely to get rejected when applying for a property. [1] : 347 Landlords who don't discriminate based on credit score often rent out poorer quality houses. [1] : 347 This issue is compounded by other forms of discrimination as marginalised people are more likely to suffer low credit. [1] : 347 Additionally eviction can lead to a lower credit rating, thus risking a negative feedback loop. [1] : 347
In the United Kingdom, the COVID-19 pandemic exaserbated housing insecurity due to increased finanical pressures due to employment precarity, reduction in informal accommodation due to isolation, and increased overcrowding issues. [2] : 3 During the pandemic, there was a tempoary ban on bailiff-enforced evictions, while housing rights organisations lobbied for more prolonged efforts in helping people with overdue rent. [2] : 3 The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), warned of two-tier economic recovery from pandemic in which renters would be more at risk of long-term housing insecurity compared to homeowners. JRF also found that ethnic minorities, and low-income, and households with children have been most affected by pandemic debt and rent arrears. [2] : 3
In the United States, the country's Federal government, as well as some US States enacted tempoary bans on eviction during the pandemic.
Victims of domestic abuse are at an increased risk of housing insecurity. [8] [9] Likewise, those who have attempted to flee abuse situations are at increased risk of having to return to an abusive household due to housing insecurity. [8] [9]
In England during 2022, over ten-thousand women fleeing abusive relationships were refused safe housing provisions. [9] [10]
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant. When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner. The term landlady may be used for the female owners. The manager of a pub in the United Kingdom, strictly speaking a licensed victualler, is referred to as the landlord/landlady. In political economy it refers to the owner of natural resources alone from which an economic rent, a form of passive income, is the income received.
Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee.
Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, commonly known as Section 8, provides rental housing assistance to low-income households in the United States by paying private landlords on behalf of these tenants. Approximately 68% of this assistance benefits seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) oversees Section 8 programs, which are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs).
A rental agreement is a contract of rental, usually written, between the owner of a property and a renter who desires to have temporary possession of the property; it is distinguished from a lease, which is more typically for a fixed term. As a minimum, the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term. The owner of the property may be referred to as the lessor and the renter as the lessee.
A rent strike, sometimes known as a tenants strike or a renters strike, is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants agree to collectively withhold paying some or all of their rent to their landlords en masse until demands are met. This can be a useful tactic of final resort for use against intransigent landlords, but can carry risks for the tenants, such as eviction, lowered credit scores, and legal consequences.
Single-room occupancy (SRO) is a type of low-cost housing typically aimed at residents with low or minimal incomes, or single adults who like a minimalist lifestyle, who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair, and sometimes a small desk. SRO units are rented out as permanent residence and/or primary residence to individuals, within a multi-tenant building where tenants share a kitchen, toilets or bathrooms. SRO units range from 7 to 13 square metres. In some instances, contemporary units may have a small refrigerator, microwave, or sink.
Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state pension, totalling £23.8 billion in 2013–14.
Poverty in the United Kingdom is the condition experienced by the portion of the population of the United Kingdom that lacks adequate financial resources for a certain standard of living, as defined under the various measures of poverty.
The Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) is a grassroots, non-profit community organization. CES works in the greater Los Angeles area to influence policy makers to improve the lives of low and moderate income people.
Housing inequality is a disparity in the quality of housing in a society which is a form of economic inequality. The right to housing is recognized by many national constitutions, and the lack of adequate housing can have adverse consequences for an individual or a family. The term may apply regionally, temporally or culturally. Housing inequality is directly related to racial, social, income and wealth inequality. It is often the result of market forces, discrimination and segregation.
Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typically as part of Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation. The federal government didn't begin to take action against these laws until 1917, when the Supreme Court struck down ordinances prohibiting African-Americans from occupying or owning buildings in majority-white neighborhoods in Buchanan v. Warley. However, the federal government as well as local governments continued to be directly responsible for housing discrimination through redlining and race-restricted covenants until the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Source of income discrimination describes when landlords refuse to rent to tenants using housing vouchers or other government assistance. Housing advocates argue the practice keeps vulnerable communities from accessing housing, although landlords point to lack of protections for tenants as their right to refuse service.
Housing quality and health outcomes in the United States are inextricably linked. As a matter of U.S. public health, substandard housing is associated with outcomes such as injury, respiratory infections, heavy metal poisoning and asthma. It may also be associated with mental disability and with obesity and its related morbidities.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is a 2016 nonfiction book by American sociologist Matthew Desmond. Set in the poorest areas of Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the 2007–2008 financial crisis and its immediate aftermath, the book follows eight families struggling to pay rent to their landlords, many of whom face eviction. Through a year of ethnographic fieldwork, Desmond's goal is to highlight the issues of extreme poverty, affordable housing, and economic exploitation in the United States.
Housing insecurity is the lack of security in an individual shelter that is the result of high housing costs relative to income and is associated with poor housing quality, unstable neighborhoods, overcrowding, and homelessness.
Eviction in the United States refers to the pattern of tenant removal by landlords in the United States. In an eviction process, landlords forcibly remove tenants from their place of residence and reclaim the property. Landlords may decide to evict tenants who have failed to pay rent, violated lease terms, or possess an expired lease. Landlords may also choose not to renew a tenant's lease, however, this does not constitute an eviction. In the United States, eviction procedures, landlord rights, and tenant protections vary by state and locality. Historically, the United States has seen changes in domestic eviction rates during periods of major socio-political and economic turmoil—including the Great Depression, the 2008 Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. High eviction rates are driven by affordable housing shortages and rising housing costs. Across the United States, low-income and disadvantaged neighborhoods have disproportionately higher eviction rates. Certain demographics—including low income renters, Black and Hispanic renters, women, and people with children—are also at a greater risk of eviction. Additionally, eviction filings remain on renters' public records. This can make it more difficult for renters to access future housing, since most landlords will not rent to a tenant with a history of eviction. Eviction and housing instability are also linked to many negative health and life outcomes, including homelessness, poverty, and poor mental and physical health.
Cancel rent is a slogan and tenant rights movement in the United States, which advocates for the cancellation of rental payments and suspension of mortgage payments during the coronavirus pandemic. Activists and organizations have also presented other demands, which include the cancellation of housing-related expenses, cancellation of late fees for housing payments, the establishment of a landlord hardship fund, an increase in emergency housing, and an eviction moratorium. The movement was triggered by the economic impact of the pandemic, in which mass business closures and employee layoffs resulted in financial insecurity for many Americans. Tenants faced a range of issues, including the inability to pay rent, harassment or intimidation from landlords, and potential eviction. This situation put tenants at risk of damaged credit ratings, food insecurity, and homelessness. Consequently, activists, tenants rights organizations, and some politicians have called for the cancellation of rent.
Housing in the United States comes in a variety of forms and tenures. The rate of homeownership in the United States, as measured by the fraction of units that are owner-occupied, was 64% as of 2017.
The Cost of Living (Scotland) Act 2022 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which came into force on 27 October 2022.
The term "affordable housing" refers to housing that is considered economically accessible for individuals and families whose household income falls at or below the Area Median Income (AMI), as evaluated by either national or local government authorities through an officially recognized housing affordability index. However, in the United States, the term is mostly used to refer to housing units that are deed restricted to households considered Low-Income, Very Low-Income, and Extremely Low-Income. These units are often constructed by non-profit "affordable housing developers" who use a combination of private money and government subsidies. For-profit developers, when building market-rate developments, may include some "affordable" units, if required as part of a city's inclusionary zoning mandate.